There have been off-seasons where one move in free agency, one bold stroke, could energize the Cowboys fan base and tip the balance of power.

This is not one of those off-seasons.

The Cowboys will work the edges of the market when it opens Tuesday afternoon. The club doesn’t have the salary cap room to go all in. In the words of executive vice president Stephen Jones, they will be efficient in their approach.

Even the most ardent supporter must acknowledge the Cowboys are more than one free agent away. This isn’t 1995, when wooing Deion Sanders away from San Francisco strengthened an already elite team and weakened the defending Super Bowl champions.

The competitive gulf between the 49ers and Cowboys these days rivals the distances astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson will cite in his upcoming series about the cosmos.

Seattle and San Francisco reside atop the NFC. New Orleans and Carolina are next. The Cowboys, at best, exist somewhere on the third plateau.

The focus in the days leading up to free agency is always on who a team might be able to pick up. Not enough is made of the free agents a team loses.

It’s unlikely the Cowboys will be able to retain defensive tackle Jason Hatcher. He finished with a career high 11 sacks, forced two fumbles and made his first Pro Bowl appearance last season.

Will the Cowboys sign a free agent who was more productive than Hatcher was in 2013?

No.

Look at the last seven off-seasons. Only once in that span have the Cowboys signed more players than they have lost. The totals: 15 signed and 28 lost.

The club had no problem letting many of those players go. But some they could no longer afford.

Hatcher is expected to fall into that category.

The Cowboys’ biggest splash in free agency in recent years came in 2012 when cornerback Brandon Carr led a class of seven players. Only three players remain and one of them, backup quarterback Kyle Orton, is wrestling with retirement.

So just what will the Cowboys do in free agency this time around? The resolution of the club’s financial stare-down with DeMarcus Ware will have the greatest impact.

Finding the sweet spot that allows the Cowboys to reduce the defensive end’s $12.25 million salary — and $16 million cap hit — yet still pay him more than he’s likely to find on the open market will be tricky. The cap room generated here is the bulk of what the team will use this spring to pursue free agents.

Timing is essential. Ware loses leverage on the open market the longer negotiations go since money will be spent elsewhere. But the Cowboys risk missing out on free agents that can help the team if Ware doesn’t budge soon.

Yes, the Cowboys can create $5.5 million in salary cap room if they designate receiver Miles Austin as a post-June 1 cut, but it means the club can’t use that money until June.

The room freed up by Ware — whether his contract is restructured, reduced or he’s cut — and Austin will give the Cowboys room to maneuver. But not all of that money will flow outward.

Some will likely be held back to sign receiver Dez Bryant and left tackle Tyron Smith to extensions. Part of it could be used to keep some of their own free agents like Anthony Spencer, Danny McCray or Brian Waters — if he decides he wants to return — in the fold.

What’s left for the Cowboys to upgrade the defensive line or other weak spots will be spent efficiently.

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